


Lend A Wing

by Katyakora



Series: Killerwave Week [9]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, F/M, KillerWaveWeek2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-18 13:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7317064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katyakora/pseuds/Katyakora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iris and Caitlin were enjoying a little freedom when the scent of blood and a cry for help changed their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lend A Wing

**Author's Note:**

> For KillerWave Week 2 Day 2- Helping Hands
> 
> With dragons and background Coldwest because I can.

There was nothing like the exhilaration of the rush of cold air kissing her face hundreds of feet in the air. Iris would never tire of it, had fallen in love with the feeling the day Caitlin bonded with her and they took their first flight. Caitlin, too, enjoyed the simply pleasure of a flight through clear skies, and was more than happy to head out with her rider whenever the fancy struck them. Today, they weren’t technically supposed to be out, Joe having forbidden solo flights as long as the Mardon brothers were still at large. But Iris and Caitlin had been going crazy confined to the Eyrie, and had convinced Barry to join them on a quick flight. The wyvern hybrid was reluctant, knowing Joe and Harry didn’t really want them leaving at all, but eventually relented. Right now, he was flying rings around them, enjoying the opportunity to stretch his own wings, the sunlight glinting on his vibrant scarlet scales.

 

Suddenly, Caitlin tensed beneath Iris, banking sharply to hover, her head cocked to one side. 

 

“Caitlin, what is it?” Iris asked, tightening her grip on the harness.

 

“I thought I heard something…” the icewyrm murmured, her eyes scanning the thick forest below. Barry zipped over to her side, scenting the air.

 

“You smell that?” he asked. Caitlin nodded and before Iris could ask, they both fell into a dive. They winged their way above the treetops until they reached a valley formed by a small river. Blue eyes scanning their surroundings, Cailtin gave a frustrated huff and roared. An answering roar echoed from the bottom of the valley allowing them to follow the sound. They found its source stretched out on a rock near a small waterfall, hidden under the trees and groaning in pain from the claw marks and lightning burns littering it’s body. The beast was massive, at least double Caitlin’s muscle mass, his rider appearing tiny where he lay next to him, apparently unconscious. Many of the beast’s pained cries were a result of attempting to revive his fallen rider despite his own heavily injured state.

 

To Iris’ surprise, Caitlin did not go immediately to the fallen dragon’s aid. Instead, she dropped down on the other side of the river and thrust out her wings to block Barry, hissing sharply.

 

“Firedrake!” she spat. Iris had heard of the deep seated enmity between Icewyrms and Firedrakes, but it was another thing entirely to witness such instant hostility from her usually sweet and caring Caitlin. The drake snarled back, shifting its bulk to place itself between them and it’s rider.

 

“Caitlin, stop it!” Iris commanded, rather unimpressed with Caitlin’s little display. Her dragon’s unhappiness radiated through their bond, but she obediently stopped hissing and lowered her wings, although Iris could still feel her guard had definitely not dropped. “Stay over here,” Iris ordered as she slid out of the saddle.

 

“Are you crazy? I’m not letting you near that thing!” Caitlin snapped.

 

“He’s seriously injured, Caitlin!” Iris pointed out sharply. “Are you really telling me that just ‘cause he’s a firedrake, he’s not worthy of our help? Would you actually leave them here to die?” 

 

Caitlin eyed the growling drake for a moment, but finally conceded. She continued to glare threateningly as Barry carried Iris across the river. The drake didn’t take his eyes off Caitlin until Iris and Barry were close enough to be a threat, growling at them warningly. They stopped at the rivers edge.

 

“Please, can we help?” Barry implored him. The injured dragon’s eyes flicked back and forth between them, Caitlin, and his unconscious rider.

 

“Depends on the help you’re offering,” he rumbled finally. 

 

“Caitlin knows some healing. She’s treated wounds like this before.” Caitlin sneered when Iris offered up her skills, but didn’t refuse to help. Through their bond, Iris could feel the stirrings of concern, probably for the rider. Caitlin really was a healer at heart, she hated seeing others hurt. The firedrake, on the other hand, was decidedly unhappy about the suggestion. He growled and snapped his immense jaws in Caitlin’s direction.

 

“I ain’t lettin’ her touch either of us!” he snapped. Caitlin rolled her eyes.

 

“Do you want to be able to fly again or not?” she huffed. “Because I can tell from here that wing won’t heal properly without medical attention, and right now I’m all you’ve got.” The firedrake stared at her angrily, clearly debating. Finally, he shifted his good wing from where it hid his rider.

 

“Fine. But help him first.” 

 

Iris and Barry moved forward, inspecting the unconscious man’s wounds. He was a handsome man, probably in his thirties, who had a nasty cut on his head and several burns showing through his singed and bloody clothes. Caitlin made her way across the river, both she and the drake clearly suppressing the urge to snarl at each other. Once she reached the opposite bank, Caitlin swept a professional eye over the injured rider.

 

“Looks like he’s lost a fair bit of blood. Bandage his wounds and I’ll give you some ice for the burns.” 

 

Barry nimbly fetched the bandages from the pack on Caitlin’s harness as she blew on the slow running water and fished a few chunks of newly formed ice out of the river. Satisfied with Iris and Barry seeing to the rider, she turned to the drake. He growled as she approached, but stayed still, his body stiff with tension. Iris could feel the heat radiating off him.

 

“Bet you’re not used to being burned,” Caitlin apparently couldn’t help but tease.

 

“I’d like to see you walk away from a fight with two stormrunners,” he snapped back.

 

“Please, like you can even walk right now,” she scoffed. “Now hold still and don’t freak out. I’m trying to help you, not hurt you.” That was all the warning he got before she gripped his wing in her more dextrous forelegs and yanked hard. The firedrake roared and spat flame reflexively, thankfully only hitting the river and causing a column of steam to rise up. He turned a burning glare on Caitlin, who just smirked. “Can you move it now?”

 

“Yeah,” he admitted lowly after wiggling it up and down gingerly.

 

“You’re welcome. Now, I need to put ice on some of these, so try not to burn me while I do it.”

 

The firedrake physically braced himself and grit his teeth in anticipation. Iris could see that Caitlin was actually trying to be gentle with her icy breath, but the firedrake still winced like she was branding him.

 

“Hey,” Iris called out, hoping to distract him. “Did you say two stormrunners?”

 

“What of it?” he snapped.

 

“One green, one yellow?” Barry added.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yeah, this is definitely the Mardons’ work,” Caitlin agreed, pausing in her careful icing of his wounds to speak.

 

“The Mardons are a couple of brothers who have a grudge against my dad,” Iris explained for the drake’s sake. “They make a habit of robbing rider pairs who stray too far from the eyrie.”

 

“But we’re not from your eyrie,” he pointed out.

 

“They don’t know that,” Barry pointed out. “They probably just saw a rider and dragon flying alone and assumed.” The wyvern frowned. “What were you doing out here?”

 

“Looking for someone.”

 

“Who?” Iris asked. “If they’ve been to the eyrie, we’ll probably know them.”

 

The dragon seemed to deliberate for a moment, giving a sudden snarl when Caitlin found a particularly tender wound.

 

“You big hatchling,” she muttered derisively in response, going back to licking at the gash, her viscous saliva helping to clean and seal the wound.

 

“Anybody ever tell you ya got a shitty bedside manner?” he grumbled. Iris noted that he seemed to be avoiding her question, so she decided to let it drop for now. Her patient was as well tended as he could be with their field kit, so she settled on the hard packed earth with his head in her lap, draping her jacket over him to provide some extra warmth.

 

“Barry, why don’t you fly back and tell Dad what’s happened? We’re gonna need more supplies and some people to patrol the skies, since I doubt our friend here is going anywhere any time soon,” Iris suggested. She could see Barry was hesitant to leave them with the Mardon brothers still out there, but he nodded anyway, knowing it was the best choice. Once he’d taken flight, flitting away faster than any other beast in the kingdom, Iris turned to the wounded dragon.

 

“Sorry, I’ve been really rude. I’m Iris West, Commander of Central Eyrie’s Second Wing and this is Caitlin Snow, our head healer.”

 

“You’re name is Snow?” he muttered with a derisive snort, earning him a light smack with her tail. “Name’s Mick Rory, my rider there is Leonard Snart. From Keystone, got no eyrie.”

 

“No eyrie?” Caitlin gasped. “Not even a nest?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“So it’s just the two of you?” Iris asked, shocked at the very idea. He just shrugged in confirmation, wincing when it pulled at his injuries. Dragons were territorial, but incredibly social within their familial groups. Their instincts drove them to seek out their own kind and form bonds. At the very least, they lived in pairs, like the Mardons. A dragon alone was one who had lost their entire family. Iris saw something shift in Caitlin’s features. She had been all alone when they found her, her family nest destroyed by raiders. Upon finding the poor hatchling, hungry and scared in her hiding place, Harrison, Joe’s poisonfang, had tucked her against his chest and flown her back to the eyrie. He claimed her as his own and cared for her ever since. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Caitlin would have died if he hadn’t found her. Caitlin knew how it felt to be utterly alone. 

 

“But why?” Caitlin couldn’t help but ask. Mick glared at her.

 

“What the hell do you care?”

 

“Sorry,” Iris said before Caitlin could get out her indignant response. “It’s none of our business.”

 

They fell into a silence. It could hardly be called companionable, considering the way Caitlin and Mick would snarl and hiss at each other whenever she touched a particularly sore spot, but their tension lacked the open hostility they’d initially displayed. Once she’d finished seeing to his wounds, Caitlin lay down on Iris’ other side, so their riders were now surrounded and guarded on all sides. Mick observed this with a low huff, his eyes almost approving of her strategy. Idly, Iris wondered if this was the most time a firedrake and an icewyrm had spent in each other’s presence without drawing blood. She was probably witnessing a historical event. 

 

Mid-day had faded into early afternoon by the time wingbeats reached their ears. Iris looked up, searching through the tree canopy with a relieved smile, but she felt Caitlin’s alarm through their bond. A glance showed Mick was equally tense, ready to spring to his feet despite his injuries. Iris sent a question through the bond and received an answer of lightning and blood. The Mardon brothers were near. Slowly, Caitlin rose to her feet. Equally slowly, Mick’s tail curled around Iris and Leonard, forming a barrier of spiky flesh around the vulnerable humans. A look passed between the two dragons, one Iris couldn’t decipher. The sound of wingbeats grew louder. Iris’ view was blocked by Mick’s wing settling over them, hiding them from the approaching threat. He shuffled a little closer, protecting them in a draconic cocoon. 

 

The sound of thunder split the air and Iris knew they’d been spotted. With a roar, Caitlin leapt into the air to face the notorious bandits. Iris’ heart froze with fear, knowing the Mardon’s reputations enough to know Caitlin was facing very bad odds. To her side, Mick’s belly expanded momentarily, the heat radiating from his scales as he aided Caitlin with jets of flame, the only thing he could do. She heard a heavy thud, one of the Mardon’s cry of anguish drowned out by Mick’s triumphant roar. There was another thud and a screech, and Iris felt her dragon’s pain through the bond. Mick roared again, spitting more flame and Iris severely wished she could see what was happening.

 

“What’s going on?” The groggy voice had her looking down into intense blue eyes. It seemed Leonard was finally awake.

 

“Don’t move,” she ordered. Outside there was a cacophony of roars, more pain through their bond, more flame from Mick and then the heavy sound of wingbeats that thankfully retreated. Mick’s wing finally lifted for them to see Caitlin scrabbling out of the river, blood dripping from several gashes but thankfully no burns. “Caitlin!” Iris exclaimed in relief, her dragon smiling at her as she flopped down next to Iris and Leonard, who was sitting up despite Iris’ order.

 

“Is that an icewyrm?” he asked in disbelief.

 

“Yup,” Mick answered, something like awe in his voice. “Where the hell did you learn to fight like  _ that _ ?”

 

“I grew up with a wyvern/stormrunner hybrid,” Caitlin answered absently, licking her wounds. “First thing I learned was how to defend against speed and lightning.”

 

“Impressive.” His eyes moved over her body, taking note of each of her wounds. “Want some help with that?” 

 

Caitlin hesitated for just a moment, her eyes narrowing at him, but finally nodded. Leonard’s jaw almost dropped at the sight of Mick leaning over to help her tend the wounds that were hardest for her to reach. Iris giggled at the expression on his face.

 

“You missed the part where they wouldn’t stop snapping at each other,” she provided helpfully. 

 

“Clearly,” Leonard responded. “How long was I out?”

 

“Just a few hours. I’m Iris, by the way, that’s Caitlin. We were out flying when Caitlin scented blood, so we came to help.”

 

“I appreciate it.” He was still frowning at the two dragons, as though the image made no sense, which was fair enough. “I’m Len, you’ve met Mick. Who, last time I checked, hated everybody.”

 

“Well, Caitlin did just risk her life defending his rider.”

 

Leonard shrugged, accepting the explanation. “We should move. No telling when those stormrunners will be back.”

 

“I ain’t movin’, Snart,” Mick instantly shut him down.

 

“We’re sitting ducks here, Mick.”

 

“He can’t fly and can barely walk,” Caitlin snapped. “The Mardons won’t be back til they’ve had a chance to heal. We’re safe, for now.”

 

Leonard looked like he wanted to argue further, so Iris jumped in. “You’re not really in any shape to go anywhere yourself,” she pointed out.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“Oh yeah? Try and stand up.”

 

He got so far as bending one leg before he was wincing in pain. “Fine.”

 

“Besides, Barry should be back soon,” Caitlin pointed out.

 

“Barry?”

 

“The wyvern hybrid she mentioned,” Iris explained. “He was with us when we found you, we sent him back for medical supplies.” She frowned a little. “He shouldn’t be too far away. He’s very fast.”

 

“The kid was a hybrid?” Mick commented. “Thought he was big for a wyvern.”

 

“One wyvern won't be much help against two fully grown dragons,” Leonard pointed out.

 

“Wow you're a real ball of sunshine,” Iris commented dryly. 

 

“I'm a realist, sweetheart. If we're stuck here, mind telling me why the hell those stormrunners are trying to kill us?”

  
They ended up passing the time with idle conversation, Caitlin and Mick bickering almost amicably in the background. Len didn’t give much away, but Iris always enjoyed a challenge. When Barry finally returned with backup, it was to everyone’s great surprise that Lisa, a member of Iris’ Wing, turned out to be Len’s missing sister. Bonded as she was to Sara, an albino Blackbeak dragon, there was no way she was leaving the eyrie; so once they’d recovered, Len and Mick simply announced they’d be staying. Joe and Harry were far from happy about this, having both taken something of a dislike to the rogue riders, but the combined might of their children’s pouts managed to sway them. They deeply regretted the decision when, in her first mating flight in years, Caitlin was courted by Mick and they became the first icewyrm/firedrake mated pair in history. This was to the immense surprise of everyone except their riders, who had been secretly courting since the boys decided to stay. 

**Author's Note:**

> Had to cut it because it was getting too big.


End file.
